Filip Hrgovic courageously upsets Moses Itauma’s party to become Croatia’s first heavyweight champion

Filip Hrgovic made history as he halted the young and exciting prospect, Moses Itauma in an action-packed contest in London to becont the IBF champion.

Hrgovic finally reached the top of the boxing mountain after he hindered Itauma’s momentum with a ninth round stoppage at the O2, London on Saturday night.

Itauma, born in Slovakia, put the boxing world on notice after a sensational knockout against Jermiane Franklin earlier this year, which followed after another sensational first round stoppage win against Dillian Whyte.

The 21 year old wrecking ball, who stands at six foot four, emerged as one of boxing’s next promising heavyweight, with a perfect record of 14 professional wins and zero losses, 12 coming by way of knockout.

Filip Hrgovic, aged 32, is a battle hardened warrior who was heralded as Itauma’s toughest test to date.

The Croatian has beaten titans such as Zhilei Zhang, Joe Joyce and David Adeleye, and with an impressive record of 21 wins and one loss, his only loss was to eventual world champion, Daniel Dubois.

Itauma started the fight in scintillating form, finding a home for his left hand which beat the Croation for pace each time.

The first notable moment came early in the second round when Hrgovic touched the canvas after a stinging right hook which triggered the count from the referee.

Itauma’s constant level changing and feints threw Hrgovinc off kilter and the momentum was firmly in the Brit’s favor.

However, Hrgovic showed signs of life in round three after he started to push the action himself, his own venomous right hands began to connect.

By the fifth round, the fight turned into a war with Itauma’s devastating hand speed continuing to be a problem for Hrgovic whenever he unloaded.

However, Hrgovic’s granite chin began to show as he was unfazed by Itauma’s onslaught, a looping uppercut by Itauma did little to trouble the Croatian at the very end of the fifth round.

The war intensified by round eight as Itauma continued to impose his will, with Hrgovic finding pockets of success of his own.

The war reached its cinematic climax in round nine when Hrgovic courageously fought back, unleashing monstrous hooks which left a depleted Itauma in big trouble.

With Itauma visibly fatigued, after giving everything in the ring, it was Hrgovic and his iron will who prevailed after Itauma’s team threw in the towel, giving Hrgovic a place in boxing history after an extraordinary fight and victory.

With Hrgovic officially crowned as the IBF heavyweight champion of the world, the Zagreb-born veteran was gracious in victory and thanked his team for the support.

For Itauma, with this being his first major setback of his professional career, he will be determined to learn from his mistakes and come back stronger.